The Daily Mail says relationships between Rooney and his club took a turn for the worse on Tuesday in the wake of comments from new manager David Moyes about the 27-year-old’s place in the Old Trafford pecking order.

Rooney has let it be known that he is furious with Moyes’ suggestions that he may be back-up to Robin van Persie and is more determined than ever to leave Old Trafford.

However, it remains the case that Rooney will have to hand in a written request to leave if he is to have any chance at all of going, and even then United remain determined not to sell him to Barclays Premier League rivals Arsenal or Chelsea.

It is understood that Moyes and chief executive Ed Woodward remain unfazed by ongoing talk about Rooney’s future. Woodward, in particular, has made it clear that he and the club’s owners the Glazers are prepared to let Rooney’s contract run until next summer and then sell him for a lower price.